Spring has arrived officially at Aspen West - cut some grass today!! Looking nice and green finally, but pastures are very dry in spite of all the snow last winter. My sister and brother-in-law, Dave and Sue Lowther arrived for a visit from Ontario. She brought my extended pedigree and a neat book filled with old family pictures.  He's a train nut so supper with most of the family  at the Footloose Caboose by us was a must followed by an overnite stay in one of the fabulous cabooses. Did lots of running around, ate at the funky Radway Hotel where the decor and food is amazing thanks to Dave and Stacey Gray for that dinner. And I do believe I corrupted my sister a bit. She bought a nice horse piece at Homesense, then a Charles Russell print at the Antique show in Red Deer. I snagged a bubble glass frame for Cindy Kremer.

Have 3 foals on the ground so far, Christopher, Felicity and Zarina, each special in their own way. It is so nice not to clean broodmare stalls for weeks on end because of nasty weather. Have a few more to go starting next week - probably Carol Rose will lead the way followed by Minnie.

Doing some landscaping - bought a huge fountain last year in Mo and it's in place and functioning - very cool. Slowly working our way around the house redoing the shrubs etc. Thinking it makes fitting a halter horse a breeze in comparison. It is slave labor alright.

Hopefully, I'll get back to blogging on a more regular basis once I catch up on life. Stay tuned.

May 3rd - weather forecast says rain, lots of it - along with strong winds, followed by snow -- They were dead on. Got another inch of rain and snow. Driving was exciting, lots of people made their marks in the median - quit counting after 20. On the way home -- scale got bigger - Big garbage truck slammed into a pick up and 100 yards further down the road is a set of tanker trains facing the wrong way - we're not sure how he managed that and stayed upright. Enough moisture for now - need some sun to put it to work.

Well Bruce always says to be careful what I wish for because I may just get it. Soooo, we've all been praying for rain, moisture in any form. Got 3/4 inch about a week ago, leaves popped out, lawns turned green - nice but not enough. Yesterday we got more rain and today it turned to snow - add another inch to the total and it's still coming down. Travel is not recommended on #2 Hwy. severe winter storm warnings covered most of central and southern Alberta yesterday - thinking we got enough for a little bit - need some sun to put it to use for a few days.

My body has just reminded me how much it hates cleaning mare and foal stalls especially when they are big mares. Yuck